Hertfordshire Minerals Local Plan Site Selection Report Final Report Prepared by LUC and Cuesta Consulting Ltd March 2017 Project Title: Hertfordshire Minerals Local Plan Review Client: Hertfordshire County Council Version Date Version Details Prepared by Checked by Approved by 1 09/08/2016 Initial Draft Report for Jonny Hill Taran Taran client review (excludes Livingston Livingston MSA/MCAs and resource assessment) 2 22/12/2016 Full Draft Report Jonny Hill, Taran Taran Josh Allen, Livingston Livingston Calum McCulloch, Alan Thompson 3 24/02/2017 Final Draft Report Josh Allen, Taran Taran Sarah Smith, Livingston Livingston Taran Livingston 4 17/03/2017 Final Report Josh Allen Josh Allen Jon Grantham 6315_Site_Assessment_Report_3.docm Last saved: 05/04/2017 12:17 Hertfordshire Minerals Local Plan Site Selection Report Final Draft Report Prepared by LUC and Cuesta Consulting Ltd March 2017 Planning & EIA LUC LONDON Offices also in: Land Use Consultants Ltd Registered in England Design 43 Chalton Street Bristol Registered number: 2549296 Landscape Planning London Glasgow Registered Office: Landscape Management NW1 1JD Edinburgh 43 Chalton Street Ecology T +44 (0)20 7383 5784 London NW1 1JD Mapping & Visualisation [email protected] FS 566056 EMS 566057 LUC uses 100% recycled paper Contents Glossary of Abbreviations 1 1 Introduction 2 Background 2 Report Structure 2 2 Policy Requirements 3 National Policy and Guidance 3 Local Policy 6 3 Site Selection Methodology for Sand and Gravel 7 Purpose 7 Approach 7 Sustainability Appraisal 8 Habitats Regulations Assessment 8 Site Selection Methodology for Sand and Gravel 8 Sieve 1 – Resource Assessment – Major Constraints 9 Sieve 2 – Resource Assessment 9 Sieve 3 – Detailed Site Assessments 10 4 Site Selection Methodology for Brick Clay 30 5 Mineral Safeguarding 31 Methodology 32 Proposed MSAs and MCAs 33 6 Site and Preferred Area Assessment Findings 34 Sieve 1 – Major Constraints 39 Sieve 2 – Resource Assessment 39 Sieve 3 – Detailed Site Assessments 40 7 Conclusions 72 Sand and gravel site options 72 Appendix 1 76 Site and Preferred Area Proforma 76 Appendix 2 206 Hertfordshire Highways Department assessment of site options 206 Tables Table 2.1: Sand and Gravel Apportionment Levels from the 2015 Hertfordshire LAA 6 Table 3.1: Evaluation Framework for Sieve 3 14 Table 6.1: List of Sites put forward through the Call for Sites 38 Table 6.2 : Summary of the suitability of each of the sand and gravel sites and preferred areas against detailed site assessment criteria 43 Table 6.3: Summary of the suitability of each of the brick clay sites against detailed site assessment criteria 44 Table 6.4: Summary of the potential effects of the sand and gravel sites 45 Table 6.5: Summary of the potential effects of the brick clay sites 65 Table 6.6: Proposed sites and preferred areas ranked in terms of their potential impact on the site and surrounding environment 70 Figures Figure 5.1: Sand & Gravel Resources in Hertfordshire 34 Figure 5.2: Proposed Mineral Safeguarding Areas for Sand & Gravel Resources in Hertfordshire 35 Figure 5.3: Brick Clay Resources in Hertfordshire 36 Figure 5.4: Proposed Mineral Safeguarding Areas for Brick Clay Resources in Hertfordshire 37 Figure 6.1: Location of Sites in County Context 41 Figure 6.2: Location of Sites 42 Figure 7.1: Site ranking based on the range and severity of likely adverse effects generated by each site 75 Glossary of Abbreviations Definition AONB Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty BGS British Geological Survey BMV Best and Most Versatile HCC Hertfordshire County Council HRA Habitats Regulations Assessment IMAU Industrial Minerals Assessment Unit LAA Local Aggregates Assessment NNR National Nature Reserve NPPF National Planning Policy Framework MCA Minerals Consultation Area MLP Minerals Local Plan MPA Minerals Planning Authority MSA Minerals Safeguarding Area PPG Planning Practice Guidance SA Sustainability Appraisal SAC Special Area of Conservation SPA Special Protection Area SPD Supplementary Planning Document SPZ Source Protection Zone SSSI Site of Special Scientific Interest Hertfordshire Minerals Local Plan Site Selection Report 1 March 2017 1 Introduction Background 1.1 Hertfordshire County Council (HCC), as the Minerals Planning Authority, is reviewing the existing Minerals Local Plan (adopted in 2007) to ensure that it is up-to-date and provides a reliable plan for at least a further 15 year plan period, plus an additional seven years for sand and gravel1. The content of a Minerals Local Plan must meet the requirements of the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) and have regard to the content of the online national Planning Policy Guidance (PPG); both of which are discussed further in Section 2 below. One of the key aspects of a Minerals Local Plan is to plan for a steady and adequate supply of aggregates by identifying specific sites, preferred areas and/or areas of search. 1.2 LUC and Cuesta Consulting were appointed in December 2014 by HCC to review the Council’s previous mineral site selection methodology (developed in 2009), amend and update it where required, and then apply the methodology to identify suitable sites for the extraction of sand and gravel and brick clay in the county. In addition, a methodology for the identification of Minerals Safeguarding Areas (MSAs) and Minerals Consultation Areas (MCAs), and its subsequent implementation was required. 1.3 The conclusions and recommendations of this report will inform the emerging Minerals Local Plan (MLP), forming a key piece of its evidence base. Report Structure 1.4 This report includes a thorough review of national policy and guidance, together with national and local information which has informed the analysis and approach undertaken. It was critical that the site selection methodology meets the statutory local plan requirements: to be positively prepared, justified, effective and consistent with national policy and guidance. 1.5 The remainder of this report is structured as follows: • Chapter 2: National and local policy requirements relating to selecting sites for inclusion in MLPs and identifying MSAs and MCAs. • Chapter 3: Describes the site selection methodology for sand and gravel and brick clay. • Chapter 4: Describes the approach to brick clay. • Chapter 5: Describes the methodology for defining MSAs and MCAs and presents the proposed MSAs/MCAs. • Chapter 6: Sets out the findings of the sand and gravel and brick clay site and preferred area assessments. • Chapter 7: Study conclusions. 1.6 In addition, the Report contains two appendices: • Appendix 1: Completed Site Assessment Proforma. • Appendix 2: Hertfordshire Highways Department assessment of site options. 1 This is to ensure that the required landbank for sand and gravel can be met. As such, the total period for sand and gravel is 22 years. Hertfordshire Minerals Local Plan Site Selection Report 2 March 2017 2 Policy Requirements National Policy and Guidance 2.1 Minerals are essential to support economic growth and our quality of life. Paragraph 142 of the NPPF2 states that it is important that there is a sufficient supply of material to provide the infrastructure, buildings, energy and goods that the country needs, and emphasises that minerals can only be worked where they are found and it is important to make best use of them to secure their long-term conservation. This highlights the importance of the need to facilitate a steady and adequate supply of minerals, as required by the NPPF. Therefore a positively prepared, justified, effective approach to the site selection methodology and site selection study, which is consistent with national policy and guidance, is essential. Site Selection for Aggregates 2.2 The NPPF states in paragraph 145 that Minerals Planning Authorities (MPAs) should plan for a steady and adequate supply of aggregates by: • “…making provision for the land-won and other elements of their Local Aggregate Assessment in their mineral plans taking account of the advice of the Aggregate Working Parties and the National Aggregate Co-ordinating Group as appropriate. Such provision should take the form of specific sites, preferred areas and/or areas of search and locational criteria as appropriate; • …making provision for the maintenance of landbanks of at least 7 years for sand and gravel and at least 10 years for crushed rock, whilst ensuring that the capacity of operations to supply a wide range of materials is not compromised…;” 2.3 The online National Planning Practice Guidance3 (PPG) elaborates on the policies included in the NPPF, stating in paragraph 008 that MPAs should “plan for the steady and adequate supply of minerals in one or more of the following ways (in order of priority): • designating Specific Sites – where viable resources are known to exist, landowners are supportive of minerals development and the proposal is likely to be acceptable in planning terms. Such sites may also include essential operations associated with mineral extraction; • designating Preferred Areas, which are areas of known resources where planning permission might reasonably be anticipated. Such areas may also include essential operations associated with mineral extraction; and/or • designating Areas of Search – areas where knowledge of mineral resources may be less certain but within which planning permission may be granted, particularly if there is a potential shortfall in supply”. 2.4 In exceptional circumstances, such as where a MPA is largely made up of designated areas protection areas such as Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONBs), it may be appropriate to rely largely on policies which set out the general conditions against which applications will be assessed. However, it should be noted that HCC is not largely made up of designated sites/areas, and the main resource in the County, sand and gravel, is located outside the Chilterns AONB. 2.5 It is essential that when undertaking site selection that accurate and high quality data is used, as paragraph 009 of the PPG states that the better the quality of data available to MPAs, the better the prospect of a site being designated as a Specific Site.